</s>PURCHASE OF THE MURDER WEAPON BY SIRHAN When the investigation into the history of the murder weapon established that Munir Sirhan had purchased the gun from George Ehrard, the possibility of a conspiracy between Sirhan and his brother was raised. The investigation had determined that Münir Sirhan had arranged for the purchase from Erhard, a co-employee, at Nash's Department Store. When first interviewed, Munir Sirlhan denied that he had purchased this gun; he contended instead that he had only been present when the gun was purchased by Sirhan. The investigation concluded, however, that Munr Sirhan has, in fact, purchased the guns. This conclusion was based on the state- ments of Erhard and another witness, William Price, and the re- sults of a polygraph examination administered to Munir Sithan. Munir Sirhran was made aware of the deception in the results of the polygraph but refused to change his story. Munir Shirhan's reluctance to admit that he has purchased the gum may be explained by the fact that he was an alien, Such an admission would have placed him in the position of having committed a felony. The investigation into this aspect of the case remains open. The District Attorney's Office has decided to delay the decision to determine whether any action should be taken regarding Munir Sirhan's possible illegal possession of a weapon. Investigators have no substantive evidence which links the purchase of the gun by Munir with any guilty knowledge on his part of Sirhan's intention to kill Kennedy. -493- 2025 RELEASE UNDER E.O. 14176

Sirhan Sirhan purchased a .22 caliber revolver with a short barrel from George Erhard on June 4, 1968. Munir Sirhan denied purchasing the gun initially but later admitted that he had purchased it.

Larry Arnot reported selling ammunition to Sirhan on June 1, 1968, and identified him as the person who made the purchase. However, during a polygraph examination, Arnot admitted lying about remembering Sirhan's visit to the gun shop.

The investigation revealed that Sirhan practiced shooting with the murder weapon at the San Gabriel Valley Gun Club on June 4, 1968. Witnesses reported seeing Sirhan firing rapidly and using hollow-point ammunition. However, some witnesses provided conflicting statements.

Jerry Owen claimed to have picked up a hitchhiker on Wilshire Boulevard on June 3 and that the hitchhiker offered him $400 for his horse. Owen stated that he took the hitchhiker to the Ambassador Hotel and that Sirhan expressed a desire to purchase a horse he was transporting to Oxnard.

Owen's story was inconsistent, with several discrepancies noted between his first account and subsequent interviews. He changed the time and date of the threatening phone call, and his alibi for June 3 conflicted with Mrs. Sirhan's statement that Sirhan had driven her to work at 8:00 a.m.

Rip O'Reilly provided investigators with information which strongly contradicted Owen's account. O'Reilly stated that on June 3, 1968, Owen called him at about 10:30 a.m. and invited him to attend a Saints and Sinners Club that night.

Owen was administered a polygraph test on July 3, 1968, and the results indicated that he was being untruthful about the incident.

The investigation concluded that there was no evidence to link Sirhan's activities at the gun club to the Kennedy assassination. The case remains open, but no further action has been taken against Munir Sirhan or George Erhard.

John F. Kennedy was assassinated on June 5, 1968, and an investigation into the shooting revealed that Sirhan Sirhan was the primary suspect. Jerry Owen's involvement with Sirhan Sirhan and his possible connection to the assassination were investigated. Virginia Teresi fabricated a story about witnessing three men in a car discussing a plot to kill Kennedy, and her polygraph examination results indicated that she was not telling the truth.

A threatening note clipped to a newspaper photo of Senator Kennedy's body was discovered, but no further action has been taken against Munir Sirhan or George Erhard. James Garrison's investigation into the assassination and potential connections to other crimes remains ongoing.

RFK Declassified Files

56-la-156_sec_002_ser_06-1968-02-1969-part_3_of_7.pdf

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